Most Common Reasons Babies Wake Up at Night

Sleep Props

The use of props to help a baby fall asleep, is the number one reason a sleeping baby wakes up at night. Here are some common props or sleep associations:

Bottle or breastfeeding/nursing to sleep

Rocking to sleep

Swinging to sleep

Movement in a carseat or stroller

Even the *pacifier if your baby is dependent on it

Holding to sleep/sleeping on parent

If your baby relies on any of the above to fall asleep, and needs them when she wakes up at night, then it is considered a prop or sleep association. Your baby will most likely continue waking throughout the night and not be able to soothe back to sleep, without that particular prop. Also, if your baby wakes up crying or if your baby wakes up screaming, this is a good sign that your baby has become dependent on sleep props. To encourage good sleep habits, your baby should be laid down to sleep awake, without any props. This goes for bedtime and during the night. Laying your baby down without any props will help your baby learn to soothe herself, so that she is not so reliant on you to sleep well. This is obviously a lot easier said, than done. I specialize in this. Here’s how I can help –>.

My first baby, Brianna, used the sheets to self soothe. She would rub her face up against the sheets, side to side, until she fell asleep. When she got older she would sway her hand across the sheets back and forth. The texture of the sheet helped her self soothe until she fell asleep. That would never cross my mind as soothing, but that’s exactly what she did. We even bought her these Velour sheets, which she absolutely loved. Of course the sheets weren’t the reason she started sleeping through the night. I had to also incorporate some Gentle Sleep Training to eliminate all of the bad sleep habits I instilled, but I just wanted to give you an example of how simple self soothing can be. There are many ways that a baby can find to self settle, you just have to give her the opportunity to do so. If she is already reliant on sleep props, this may take some sleep training to resolve. And don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to leave your baby to cry it out. There are many gentler ways.

By teaching your baby to fall asleep on her own, and getting rid of sleep props, you will solve most, if not all of your baby’s sleep troubles. I am not suggesting, by any means, to use any harsh methods of sleep training to achieve this. As a matter of fact you want to do everything you can, to comfort your baby before bed. Kisses, hugs, and cuddling, is the best part of our bedtime routine! Of course you want to make your baby feels safe, secure, and loved before bedtime. Just don’t let the sleep props be the reason your baby falls asleep.

* A side note on the use of the pacifier. I encourage the use of a pacifier because it has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS. However, if your baby keeps waking up and crying in the middle of the night because the pacifier fell out, and you need to keep putting it back in, then you might want to evaluate if you really want to use it. This is a personal choice, one you will have to make weighing your pros and cons. I thought Brianna was reliant on the pacifier, then I put her to the test. I took the binky away, and let her fall asleep without it for a few nights, and she didn’t cry for it. So I knew she wasn’t relying on it. She fell asleep with it, but didn’t care when it fell out. So I decided to keep it. I think I would of kept it either way, at least for the first few months. Tell a nurse something reduces SIDS, and she’s not going to think twice.

“Before I contacted Violet Anthony had never slept through the night, he was usually up twice a night. He was also dependent on nursing to fall asleep. I couldn’t believe it, the first night he slept 11 hours straight!! It’s been 2 1/2 weeks so far and every single night he’s slept for 10-11 hours! He also no longer falls asleep nursing! Now he nurses and pulls off when he wants to go to bed. He loves his crib which is a total change from before when he would cry every time I laid him down. Thank you so much!! Honestly, I thought there was no way my stubborn little guy would go into his crib awake and fall asleep. It’s amazing!! Thanks!! I can sleep again!!”~ Alison, California

Circadian Rhythm

It’s also known as our biological clock. It’s a 24 hour pattern of biological activities that occur in our body. The sleep-wake cycle is part of that circadian rhythm. As part of sleep-wake cycle our body releases certain hormones during night time to help us fall asleep. It also releases daytime hormones to help us wake up. Babies are born with an under developed circadian rhythm. That’s why when you bring your baby home from the hospital, he or she sleeps during the day, and is awake at night. Also, don’t forget throughout your pregnancy, your baby was rocked to sleep during the day by your movements. That’s why you felt her movements at night when she was awake. So what can you do to help your little night owl? Just keep your baby on a regular feeding cycle. Keep the blinds open, turn on the t.v or radio, and just go about your day as you normally would to help create an association with daytime. Then at night, obviously you do the exact opposite. Quiet all noise, turn down the lights, and establish your bedtime routine. Be patient, it can take some babies up to 8 weeks to know the difference between day and night. To complicate things even more, melatonin (the sleep hormone) is not produced until a baby is about 2-3 months old. So don’t get discouraged, it takes a while for a baby to settle into this world.

Startle Reflex

Also known as the Moro reflex, is a normal infantile reflex. When some stimulus causes your baby to startle, the legs flex and the arms stretch out. This stimulus can be a loud noise, an unexpected touch, or a bad dream. This reflex lasts only a few seconds, but can wake a sleeping baby. Some babies can drift right back to sleep, while others will completely wake up. This reflex usually diminishes by 4 months of age. Until then, the Swaddle Sleep Sack is great. Those nifty velcro patches were intended to keep your baby’s arms inside, and prevent awakening from the startle reflex. I watched Brianna, completely wake up from the startle reflex over and over. Her arms would fan out and within seconds, she was completely awake! That’s when I decided to put her in the Swaddle Sack. It helped so much and she slept so much better.

Temperature

At one point Brianna started waking more frequently for a few days in a row, right at the start of winter. I noticed her little hands and feet were cold. Now it’s pretty warm in our house. As a matter of fact, I slept in shorts and a tank top. Apparently it wasn’t warm enough for Brianna. I had to adjust the temperature for her. When I did, she was back to her normal sleep schedule. The same thing happened in the summer when it got really warm out. At this point she was sleeping through the night, and she started waking up a for a few nights. That’s when I realized it was too warm for her. It was only April, I never turn on the air condition this early! I had to put a low fan setting on the A.C. and that kept her comfortable. Babies are picky about the right temperature. We naturally regulated their temperatures for them, while they were in utero. Out here, it’s a bit more difficult to get that temperature just right.

Hunger

Ok this may sound self explanatory, but it’s not. You may think your baby is hungry, but she may not be. Here are some clues that your baby is waking up at night because she is truly hungry:1. She’s wakes up whining at first, then transitions into a louder and louder cry. If your baby wakes up hysterical, she’s probably waking up because she’s scared or confused, not because she’s immediately hungry. Babies will wake up screaming if they fell asleep in your arms, and didn’t go to sleep on their own. They wake up alarmed, wondering where they are, and where you disappeared. Sort of like you would if you fell asleep in your warm bed, but woke up in your backyard. That’s how alarming it is for a baby, and that’s why your baby wakes up screaming.

2. Your baby is waking up consistent with her daytime feeding schedule. Meaning if she’s eating every 3 hours during the day, she will probably do the same at night. Especially if she is young. A young baby may only be able to make it 3-4hrs at night. If your baby is older, her consistent wakings may be purely out of habit, refer to the habit section below.

3. She only wakes for one feeding. If your baby is only waking for one feeding, and goes right back to sleep, she is most likely hungry and still needs that feeding. If your baby is waking up multiple times a night, chances are she is just comfort feeding. (Unless she is really young of course)

4. When your baby is eating, you hear loud, audible swallows. What I mean is, she is not just playing around, suckling a little here, a little there. She is truly drinking and actively eating. Some babies wake up from a sleep cycle, and just want to be soothed back to sleep, and the bottle or breast is obviously going to do the trick. Brianna was infamous for this. She would wake up, suckle a little, and fall right asleep on me. I would slip her into bed and half hour to an 1 hour later, she did it again. She wasn’t hungry, she was using me as a soother! And this went on for months. It wasn’t until she was 8 months old, when I learned about sleep props, and that she was actually only comfort nursing.

5. Your baby stays awake during the entire feeding, and usually drinks a large bottle or feeds from both breasts. A baby wouldn’t be able to eat that much, if she was not hungry. It is possible that your baby is eating a large amount out of habit, or simply because it’s offered and she knows it’s an easy way to fall back asleep. If your baby is comfort feeding while her stomach is full, she will eat a little bit and fall asleep on the bottle or breast. So it can be very tricky. You have to really be in-tune with your baby’s hunger cues. I can also help with this, more on that below.

6. Here’s the biggie, your baby falls asleep after you place her back in the crib awake! Now only a content baby could do that. If you fulfilled her need for calories because she was hungry, and she falls asleep knowing that she is back in her crib, then she was most likely hungry. Otherwise she would put up a fight and stay awake.

Out of Habit

Many babies wake several times a night, and even just once or twice a night, simply out of habit. If they get a feeding or sleep prop at the exact same time each night, their body’s internal clock gets set to wake at that time each night. This is often the most complicated reason for a waking, because parent’s get confused about what’s going on. They start to wonder is my baby really hungry? Is my baby relying on me for comfort? Or is my baby just simply waking out of habit? And how do I stop the wakings? This can be difficult to resolve on your own. I help parents with this dilemma on a daily basis and would be glad to help. If you are having a hard time getting your baby to sleep, because your confused about what’s going on and how to fix it, please consider one of my Baby Sleep Consultation Packages. I will take an in depth look into your baby’s sleep situation, create a customized sleep plan, and help you through the entire process of helping your baby sleep well.

Growth Spurt

We all heard about this right? Your baby grows at a rapid rate and needs to eat more. Common growth spurts are 7-10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. Give or take a little, they are not exact. Brianna must of hit every single one of these. She was on a great sleep schedule, then all of the sudden started waking frequently. I knew it was only a growth spurt, because it only lasted 3-4 days. After a while, I loved growth spurts. Because at the end of each growth spurt, she would get right back on her sleep schedule, and even slept a little bit longer. My recommendation, just feed on demand during a growth spurt. If you are breastfeeding, don’t worry about your supply being low. Your supply will actually increase to meet the demand of your baby. I always thought it was cool how that works. Don’t forget to drink extra fluids. You are going to be thirsty from all the feedings. And if you are bottle feeding, your partner can help with the extra feedings. Growth spurts can be exhausting but thankfully they don’t last long.

New Developmental Skill

Your baby learned how to kick, roll, sit or stand and now they want to do it all night. Sound familiar? You can’t stop a baby from exploring her new skills. For younger babies, the Swaddle Sack is great. You can use it up until your baby starts to roll. It keeps their little arms and legs inside. At first I wasn’t very fond of using the Swaddle Sack. I felt like I was restraining my baby. After a few uses, I realized it was really helping her. By using a good swaddle, you are keeping your baby snug, and preventing her from even getting the idea of kicking or swinging her arms. At first I was swaddling Brianna in a regular receiving blanket. It didn’t take long for her to slip out of there. As soon as an arm or leg broke loose, she fully woke up to further experiment. With the Swaddle Sleep Sack, that never even crossed her mind because her arms and legs never came out of it. She slept so soundly in it. As you can tell, I really love swaddle sacks! And don’t forget lots of playtime on the mat during the day. This helps your baby practice her new skills, so she’s less likely to practice at bedtime and during the night.

Teething

For some babies teething can feel like an itch, and for others it can be very painful. But either way, it’s annoying and can keep a baby up all night. 6 months is the average time a baby cuts her first tooth, but it can happen way earlier, or later. Bottom line, you will have to find some way to ease the pain. Talk to to your doctor about some options. There’s no reason to hold off on helping your baby sleep well because of teething.

Light

Is there any light coming in the room? Perhaps it’s a full moon, or your neighbor just bought a new garage light. Lights can really bother a sleeping baby, because they disrupt the sleep-wake cycle. Illumination suppresses Melatonin, the hormone that helps your baby sleep. If you suspect light to be waking your baby, I recommend room darkening or black out shades like these Blackout EZ blinds. Before we put Brianna in her own room, she slept 2 hours later in our bedroom which had the room darkening shades. I learned that she’s one of those babies that wakes as soon as there’s any tiny bit of light coming through. Blackout shades are great, they keep the bright sunlight out, and most of them block out 95-99% of light.

Some babies are just more sensitive than others. Studies show that even a small amount of light can prevent us from going to sleep and staying asleep. You may have to get rid of the cute nightlight you registered for, or cover up the light on the smoke detector. I actually had to cover the green light coming from the baby monitor camera. I just stuck a piece of black tape on the light. I caught Brianna staring at it the first few nights we installed it, it was preventing her from falling asleep. It was such a tiny pin size light, but it still bothered her. Some babies won’t even give you any clues that a light is bothering them. Instead they will just have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.The Blackout EZ blinds are by far the best blackout blinds on the market. Trust me, I have tried at least 10 different brands! These block out 100% of light, no sneaking in of light on the sides like other curtains, blinds, or panels. You don’t need hardware to install them, and can still use them with your cute nursery drapery. Not to mention they work much better, and are cheaper than the typical blackout blinds or panels. And they come in different colors too. They are amazing! You can find them here—>

Illness

It should be no surprise that a baby that is sick, is now waking in the middle of the night. Whether it’s a cold, stomach bug, or just a fever, your baby will have a hard time sleeping due to the
discomfort. Stuffy noses cause mouth breathing, and mouth breathing causes dry mouth, which in turn makes your baby wake more frequently. Fevers are also very uncomfortable, even for us adults, so think about what it does to our babies who can’t communicate their needs very well. During this time, try your best to soothe your baby, but you may just have to deal with a few rough nights.

Sometimes figuring out why your baby is waking up so often and
finding a solution to stop the wakings, requires some help. For that reason, I offer personal consultations. The

consultation comes with a step by step sleep plan that I create for your baby, and help with the entire process, so that your baby can start sleeping through the night. If you need help getting your baby to sleep, please take a look at my Consultation Packages, or see what others are saying about how I have helped them on the Testimonials Page.

Violet Giannone

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142 Responses

Thank you for this article, it explains alot. I thought my baby was waking because she was hungry, but after reading this I realize she may be just doing it out of habit. I'm going to try the sleep report now, and see what it says. Thanks again!

I have a question. My little one wakes up at the same time every night. Out of habit, I feed her. As I lay here listening to her talk, whine, and shuffle around; I'm wondering of I need to soothe/comfort her if she is not crying. I would like her to wake up @ 8am. Usually I feed her @4 sometimes 6 but she always falls back to sleep. I have more questions but she is getting fussy so i feel the need to go to her. Thank you, jessica

Hi Jessica! If she is not hungry and not crying, just whining, then there is no need to intervene. She needs to find the skills to fall asleep on her own, without your help. The only way she can do that is if you give her a chance to figure it out. There's nothing wrong with some whining and shuffling around, that is her way of trying to figure out how to fall back asleep. Good luck!

I need help!!! My second son who is now 3 months (a little over) has been a HORRIBLE napper ever since he was about 4-6 weeks old. I don't know what happened. I put him down awake and he'll cry for a little bit but then coos and falls asleep perfect BUT he continually wakes up 3-4 times during EVERY nap. I kid you not! It's very frustrating and sometimes makes me cry. When he wakes up he SCREAMS and cries!!! Not just crying. I've been trying to figure this out for months!!! Is it my diet? gas pains? he hates sleeping on his back? Acid reflux? I've tackled all this issues with no resolve!!! He used to sleep a solid 5-6 or 7 hours at night but started waking a TON at night. I don't feed him because he's not hungry. I know this because I either put the paci in or roll him on his belly and he falls right back to sleep plus I know his hunger cry. I feed him when he's hungry. He's the HAPPIEST baby when he's awake. All smiles and giggles, playing with toys. He's great! Just the worst napper!!! Just now I decided to try and turn his fan to the lowest setting thinking maybe the louder sounds scares him awake? And his startle reflex? I don't know, just a thought. He's not swaddled anymore but he did the same thing while swaddled. He also does it on his back and belly. He does it anywhere I put him down. When he's in the car, a pack and play, his crib, other houses… Also, his paci is not a sleep prop because I don't give it to him to fall asleep. I only put it in on occasion. Could it be a medical issue? Gastrointestinal issue?

I'm loving your site! My 4-month-old was sleeping great, 11-12 hours total with one feeding after about 7-8 hours. Then she started rolling in her swaddle. The last night in her swaddle, I put her down completely awake, got ready for bed, and she was sound asleep, no crying/fussing etc. So now we're hit with 3 things at once: no swaddle, rolling over and the 4 month regression. She's not going to sleep on her own anymore (fussing turns to all out crying) so I have to rock her. Then for the last week straight, she wakes up 30 minutes after she goes down, rolling over both ways, not happy and crying. Then I rock her to sleep again. She IS sleeping a pretty good stretch after that, anywhere from 4-6 hours. Then feeding, then another stretch from 3-4ish hours. The pediatrician said to let her CIO and there's no way I'm going to do that. I figure I'll just try putting her down less and less asleep very gradually like I did the first time (which took several months). Am I on the right track? Is the rocking going to get her to rely on me too much?

Thank you, I'm glad you found my site helpful! Yes you are definitely on the right track. Welcome to the 4 month regression, it's horrible! I'm going through it myself too with my 4 month old. Do your best to not start any bad habits but if all else fails do whatever it takes to help her get some sleep. Unfortunately sometimes there's not much you can do but just ride this out. Good luck!

Hi there – hoping you can help… My almost-4-month-old is a terrible napper and sleeper. She seems to hate sleeping flat on her back and always falls asleep on our chests. I know this is a bad habit on our part, but she has really bad reflux so we've been told by our doctor to keep her upright for at least 30min after a feeding. So, we feed her, put her on our chest as we sit-up, and then put her in her crib after about an hour…She'll sleep soundly for 1-3hours, and then she starts fussing. She kicks her feet like crazy, rolls back and forth, and grunts loudly. I thought it was gas that was waking her up so we switched bottles and formula. I have tried to just leave her but she gets so fussy that she gives herself the hick-ups and is quite obviously under distress…So then I go to her and pick her up, bring her into bed with me, and she falls asleep right away. (So I know she's not hungry) Once she's asleep, I have tried to put her back in bed, but she will wake up and get fussy again within 30-45min. So, this goes on and on, picking her up, putting her on my chest, then putting her back in her crib, and waking again in half an hour… It's exhausting, so some nights I just can't deal with it and let her sleep on me all night long…. I know this is a bad habit and I want to break it, I'm just not sure how.. Stressed! Any suggestions? (I am guessing that you will say that I am her "prop"…my body heat is what she's using to soothe herself… how do I get away from that?)

hi my 10 month old just recently started fighting her sleep really bad at night when i put her to bed. She may sleep for about 10 min then she's wide awake screaming and won't go back to sleep. Thisbhas happened twice in a row now and idk what to do. She sleeps perfectly fine when she's inthe bed with me but i really don't want her getting into that habit.

If she's not relying on props to fall asleep, it could be a regression, growth spurt, her nap schedule might be off, her sleep requirements might be decreasing at this age just to throw out a few ideas…Give it a few days to see what happens, and try your best to not bring her in bed with you.

Have you tried using a crib wedge or elevating the mattress to help with her reflux, sounds like she's uncomfortable as well as little dependent on sleeping on you. You can look into some sleep training methods to help her fall asleep on her own. Look through a few of my articles on those topics and let me know if you need more help. Good luck!

Help! My 4 week old sleeps at 7 (after about at least a hour of coaxing him) so then from 8-10ish then wakes at about 2-3 -all that's fine I can cope but then he wakes 4,5,6,7 🙁 each time for around half hour leaving my absolute shattered! He's breast fed and I'm seriously considering giving him a formula feed at 2 in the hope it fills him up for longer? Any ideas to prevent me doing this? Also is it normal to take so long to settle him each time?

Hi Nicole, give it a little more time, 4 weeks is still pretty young. He may still have his days and nights mixed up, it's too early to expect much from him. Do your best to keep him up during the day and feed him at intervals no longer than 3 hours. If you fill up his tank during the day, he may need less at night:) Also, if he is having a hard time sleeping at night, you can let him sleep in a swing or rock and play to get him use to sleeping during nighttime hours. Once his days and nights are adjusted, you can then put him in his bassinet, co sleeper, or whatever sleeping arrangement you have. Good luck, let me know if you have any other questions!

Help!!! My 6 month old baby is not sleeping or napping well. She wakes every 30 or 40 minutes during the day and every 1 or 2 hours during the night. She used to be a good sleeper till 3 months. But after 3 month, she doesn't sleep without being breastfed. Every time she sleeps she wants me to nurse her otherwise she doesn't sleep at all. I thought my breast milk was not enough so i started her a formula but she doesn't want to take a formula after a week. I am confused and don't know what to do. It has been a while since i slept well. I am so tired. Please let me know what to do. Thank you. Martha

Thank you for the reply. I try to sleep her independently but she keeps on crying. Today is her first day.She doesn't want to sleep without me even if she is so tired. She cries like anything. Don't know what to do. Is it normal?

You may want to start some "sleep training" at this point. But yes this is normal. Every baby is going to cry when you change up their routine. There's different ways of handling the crying and protesting, so read through some of my article regarding sleep training. Good luck!

Hi Violet, thanks a lot for the post. WishI found your blog earlier. I need your opinion. My 10 mnth and 1 week old recently awaken a lot at night. Sometimes she would be awake for every 1.5 hours after the first 4 hours of sleep. She used to just woke up 2 or 3 times from the entire night sleep. When I feed her at night, she sucks until the milk flows and continue for 5 mins then she just sucks and stop until she releases the breast which she already asleep. Does this mean she is not hungry and just want comfort? I am night weaning her cuz I will be back to work in less than 2 months. I tried ignoring her cries for 2 days which made me felt awful so I changed the method. I went in when she cries really hard like in pain to comfort her then put her down awake (she cried but fell asleep after 20 mins). I also gave her water from a bottle when smacking her lips like she was thirsty then put her down awake. Again she cried and went to sleep after 20 mins. I wonder if she still is hungry at this age especially from the wakeup at 4 am cuz her tummy feel flat. Should I still feed her at 4 am? I felt guilt for not feeding her and only have water. is she ready for night weaning? I should know but I'm really confused when I feel pressure from others that knows I'm struggling with her at night for sleeps and those that have baby slept thru the night after letting their babies cried it out.

Hi there,I have a 9 month old who is a horrible sleeper. She was a good sleeper when she was a newborn until about 5 months. I've breastfeed her on demand since she was born and have nursed her to sleep… we do also co sleep… she was sleeping fine until she turned 5 months.. now wakes up frequently while she naps and she usually naps for about an hour sometimes two .. I usually have to nurse her to fall back asleep when she wakes up during her nap .. she takes about two naps a day… and does not sleep through the night! She wakes up every 3 hours… and needs to be nursed to be soothed back to sleep. I know shes not hungry when I nurse her back to sleep because shes not swallowing just using me to soothe herself.. she won't take a pacifier…I'm at my whits end I don't know what to do… I've tried the cry it out method but that doesn't work it doesn't mattter how tired she is she will not cry herself to sleep… we have a bed time routine ….. shes a horrible sleeper and I'm a desperate sleep deprived mom please help!

Hi. My 4 month old still wakes up at night but doesn't eat as much as he used to. Instead of a full 8 oz bottle, he now only drinks 1 to 2 oz of milk every 2 to 3 hours throughout the night. He goes to sleep on his own while he's fully awake at bedtime, but won't stay asleep all night. Heusually goes back to sleep on the bottle during his night feeding. I am so sleep deprived & need him to stay asleep at night. The frustrating part is that he wakes up crying just to only drink an ounce or two, and I'm thinking he's so hungry because of the crying. Is it time for me to start weaning him off of the night feedings? Please, for the love of God & all things holy say yes!

sounds like he is using the bottle for comfort to help soothe back to sleep. A little "sleep training" would be a good idea at this point. Part of the training would include not feeding him back to sleep and breaking the habit of him falling asleep on the bottle. Chances are he still could be hungry at some point during the night, but definitely not every 2 hours. If he is hungry after a long stretch, it's ok to give a bottle just whatever you do, do not let him fall asleep on it, lay him down drowsy but awake. Another thing I want to mention is that there is a sleep regression at this point, please refer to my article about that. If he is going through any developmental milestones at this point, you may want to put the sleep training off until things subside. Good luck!

Hello, my baby falls asleep nursing at the bedtime feed. how do I keep him awake so I can put him down awake? Normally if he wakes as I transfer him to his cot, he will cry & not go to sleep himself. However during the night, after a feed, he can go down awake and after 5/10 mins, he's asleep, but he can seem to do it after his bedtime feed or daytime naps. Thank you!

Hi Violet, I've read through your advice for others and a few of your articles clicking on links and such. It's all great info and reinforces the advice given in the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. My daughter is just about 11 weeks old and sleeps great through the night. Every once in awhile she will wake up after only 3-4 hours but otherwise she sleep 5-8 hours then wakes, feeds and goes back to sleep for another 1-3 hours. She'll do that once or twice depending on how long she slept the first chunk of the night. I do have a fan running (low) but it runs in almost every room and is there when she falls asleep and when she wakes up (I have air purifiers). Other than that I don't think she has any other props and again sleeps well at night. My issue is that she used to be better at taking day naps but recently she's been napping several times a day for 20 – 40 mins. I'm thrilled when she sleeps for 45 mins or more because I feel like that's at least a real nap. These other 20 -30 min naps are really just irritating I think for her because she wakes up so sad and frustrated. I've tried to let her cry for 5 mins to see if she'll put herself back to sleep…sometimes she does and can sleep a full nap and other times she's just SO upset and just gets more angry. Am I doing something wrong that she's only sleeping short periods ALL DAY? Sometimes she'll wake up after 30 mins and be super happy, other times she wakes up screaming…and I can't swaddle her anymore because she'll only sleep on her stomach. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

Hi, yes, I put her down awake…she usually fusses for a minute or maybe 2 minutes but then she falls asleep. If she fusses for more than 5 minutes or if she's not fussy but crying (you know that cry that says I'm not mad I'm really upset), then I pick her up immediately. That's only happened once or twice though.

If you are putting her down awake at all times, even middle of the night wake ups, then you might need to adjust your sleep/nap schedule. Make sure you are following age appropriate sleep lengths and wake times. She is young, so no worries, it's a work in progress. Some babies this age just take many short naps throughout the day and they are fine that, as long as they are meeting their daily sleep requirements. If you need further help with sleep lengths and wake times you can take a look at my sleep consultation packages or join me on my next live chat. Good luck!

Hello! I have an 8 week old who used to be able to sleep 5-6 hours a stretch a night with just one feeding an night. For the past week or so, she's been getting up every 3 hours because she needs a bottle to settle back into a deep sleep. I know it's not hunger because she doesn't finish the bottle and only takes 2 oz. I'm losing my mind and getting a lot of anxiety as night approaches. Also, I sometimes stay up and can't sleep because I hear her waking up! It really sucks : ( I read that it may be a good idea to fill a bottle with water for one of the unnecessary feedings. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Hello – I have 5-1/2 month old twin boys. One sleeps from 9pm – 6am waking only 1-2 times a night. The other twin also goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up at 2:30, 3:30, 4, 5 but then will sleep soundly until I have to get them up before work. He starts by yelling out and then it turns into a very long, loud cry. We have to address him quickly or he'll wake his brother up. His eyes are usually closed and we try to "shush" him back to sleep but I notice his arms will jerk or fall to his side and wake him up again. Is this something that is normal?

I don't ever recommend that a baby "cries herself to sleep" Wanting to sleep only on you is normal but you can start laying her down awake to see if she will try to figure out how to fall asleep on her own. Please refer to my article "How to Teach Your Baby to Fall Asleep Independently"

Hi there! This usually happens with babies that don't fall asleep on their own. In other words if you are putting your baby to sleep by nursing, rocking or any other prop, then your baby will not know how to fall back to sleep on his own when he wakes at night. Please refer to my article "How to Teach Your Baby to Fall Asleep Independently"

Hi, I just found your site – this is awesome! I have a 5 month old (first baby). He is EBF, and sleeps very well through the night. I think we had a 4 month sleep regression (previously, he had been only waking once to eat in the middle of the night), then all of a sudden, he was waking twice. He was also very distracted during the day while feeding, so I think he was genuinely hungry, as I was putting him to bed between 6-6:30 due to his poor naps. Our overnights have since been fixed. He is only waking up once (around 3:30), sleeping an 8-9 hour stretch (early bedtime still) before waking to feed. Or what I think is waking to feed. Two nights ago, he slept 12 hours straight (ate very well that day). He has also become very fussy when we try to give him his bottle (we usually do a bottle once a day, at bedtime, so my husband can feed him). That bottle is a big one, too, and is 8oz.

My main concern, though, is his daytime napping. He generally sleeps either 26 or 30 minutes, which makes me feel like the issue is perhaps his reflex (he still has a small startle reflex around that time) or his sleep cycle. I have tried playing around with his wake times (shortening, lengthening), trying to do naps by the clock, and very rarely am I able to get him to sleep longer than 30 minutes. I have tried leaving him in the crib for an additional 30 minutes, and sometimes he falls back asleep for another 40, but not always.

He goes into the crib awake, wears a Halo Sleep Slack during the day, and a Carter's Sleep Sack at night. Of course, as I type this, he has been sleeping for an hour and 15 minutes, which is VERY rare. If his nap lasts longer than 40 minutes, it's usually ONLY the morning nap. Here are some of my thoughts:

1) Is it possible he is getting too much sleep overnight? Last night, we put him to bed at 7, instead of 6-6:30, to try and make his last feeding later in the night, to encourage a longer sleep stretch, or sleeping through the night. Should we try a later bedtime to see if he will sleep more during the day? Everything I've read and believe about baby sleep says sleep begets sleep, but I know not all babies require the same amount. Is there a 24-hour max that babies will sleep? Maybe his sleep hours need to be redistributed?

2) His natural wake-time is in the 6-7am hour. Usually 6:30. I usually put him down for his first nap about 2 hours after he wakes. Sometimes he sleeps a long time, other times, it's only 1/2 hour.

Either way.. these short naps are a problem because he is waking up tired. By the end of the day, he's exhausted! Any ideas?

Hi. I have a six week old and the last few days he's been waking every 2 hours. Normally its every 3. Is he having a growth spurt? He only drinks from one breast and then I cant keep him awake. I put him down and like clockwork two hours later he does the same. Also in the mornings about 4 he gets terrible wind, down the bottom end and won't let me put him in his moses basket he just howls till he's red in the face and I have to have him in bed with me lay on his tummy. Is this normal

It's very typical at this age. A baby's sleep pattern changes to more of adult pattern. Many parents think its the 4 month regression when in fact it's just the sleep patterns changing. Make sure he goes down awake and he should get the hang of things. Good luck!

Hi am in the UK and have a 15 month girl who from about 8 months has gradually got worse with her sleeping to the point now that she wakes almost every night a number of times and I usually have to put her in bed with me she is a very restless sleeper and also when I try and get her to sleep she will not go down in her cot even when she is half asleep she cries to the point of getting herself in a state as have tried staying in the room with her and leaving her to cry a little and nothing seems to be working one thing I have noticed is that she tends to grab and pinch me and stroke my hair and hold on to me in some way when trying to get her to sleep she is were fidgety have you any advice thanks

Anything you try should be attempted for a least a week. It takes that long for a baby to adjust to any changes. Older babies as yours can take up to 2 weeks, sometimes longer. So pick a sleep training method of your choice and give it some time. Stay committed and consistent and you should be able to solve tackle this. Good luck, let me know if there's any way I could help

Hi, my baby is a few days shy of 4 weeks. She usually naps great during the day. Some days almost all day. Occasionally she will be a bit fussy but at night she is really fussy and will only stay sleeping in our arms! As soon as I put her down she's up in 10min or less. I thought maybe she needs to be in a deeper sleep and would let her stay in my arms longer before putting her in her bassinet but still no difference. This has been going on for about a week now. Last night I thought she would be better bc she stayed up from 6:00pm-9:45pm but we still had the same problem. I'm afraid she is getting used to sleeping in our arms but I don't know what to do bc we do not get any sleep otherwise! I thought it was her startle reflux that is keeping her up but during the day there are naps that she takes unswaddled and she's fine. Please help!

Hi violet.My almost 4 month old daughter usually sleeps 10 to 12 hours. Recently she has been wpaking uo after 8 and "talking", whining but not really crying. I have been getting up to feed her but tonight i waited 15 minutes and she was back to sleep on her own after a lot if thumb sucking. Does this mean her thumb sucking soothes her and not tha she was hungry? I just want to make sure i didnt make her gi back t ok sleep hungry. Thank you.My daughter has been w

Dear Violet!at 4 months old, I got my girl to fall asleep by her self, and she would sleep for 4-5 hrs before waking up for a feed. Then she hit the dreaded 4 month sleep regression – waking up every hous and crying as soon as i tried to put her back in her crib. Then she got a bad case of excema and would wake up frequently scratching. Then it was (and still is) teething were she would wake up screaming hysterically and I would nurse to sleep. Or maybe the screaming is due to bad dreams.

Now she is 6 months old and are falling asleep by her self again (in her crib) after your great advices! She falls asleep most of the time with me and my husband in the room (her crib is in hour bedroom), other times when we are not in the room.

The problem is that she still wakes up every 45 min-1hr! So now for the past couple of weeks we have started sleeping with her in our bed. We all need the sleep…. She then sleep so much longer and better! But she will cry every single hour before we go to bed with her. Sometimes I can hush her back to sleep in 2 seconds, other times it takes 30 min. She still nurses 1-2 times per night, and since she is not gaining enough weight, I am told to keep nursing at night for a while longer.

So my question:Have we made our selves into a sleep association?Btw, she have never taken the paci, nor a teddy bear or a blanket as a comforter….

Hi Violet, Just came across your site and found it extremely helpful. I never thought I would be getting advice for this subject since I always made a conscious effort to not get my child into bad sleep habits and he is always slept very good until he reached 4 months. He is now 5.5 months and is still not sleeping through the night anymore. He will fall asleep on his own and still does, always put him down drowsy but I do gieve him a bottle right before I put him down. Never has a problem falling asleep. But then he cries around 10 pm, never opening his eyes, sometimes goes back to sleep on his own or I have to just go in, put his paci back in,sometimes it's still in his mouth, touch his face, and he is back to sleep. Then again at 12am., usually feed him since he is ravenous with hunger, eats the whole thing and then goes right back to sleep. Wakes up a few more times, whimpering, go in to sooth him, never picking him up. Then up at 4 or 5 am for another feeding, sleeps for 2 hours or so and is up..happy as a clam. Why is he waking up crying all the time? He is soothed so easily, and have really trained him to not get us to getting picked up everytime he cries. I usually jsut hold his hand and he is out. I know he is not in pain. He never opens his eyes, he is just crying. I was thinking dreams or nightmares! Ever hear of this? Any thoughts would be great!

Hey my daughter has always been a good sleeper but sometimes she will wake around 4/5 wingingx then her cry gets louder nd louder until I go in I lay her bk down leave rolm wait 5 mins nd she stil xrying, I dont usually iike giving her a bottle cuz I thibk does she need it but wen I do do give her a bottle I usually water it dwn nd once shes had her bottle shes quiet, ? And dont here from her then until8 am I doing the right thing? plz help

Hi.. My daughter is 4 weeks old. The first 2 weeks were really amazing with her as though she operated on time schedule but after that its been really difficult with her to put her to sleep. She has lot of gas and whenever she sleeps she always has a difficult time. She sleeps only on my chest ( a habit that she has developed last week) and the moment i put her down, she gets up with her own movements and noises that she makes and the cramps she gets due to gas. As long as shes on my chest, even though she gets cramps and gets troubled but she does not get up. Now its becoming difficult for me to hold her the entire day. I sometimes carry her in a wrap but even in that she starts getting fussy after 1 hour or so. I do not know what is to be done? Please help

my son is almost 9 months old and he is very reliant on his bottle. he will not go to sleep without it and will wake up multiple times a night when he realizes he doesn't have it anymore. if he doesn't get his bottle as soon as he wakes up, he will scream until he gets it. my son co-sleeps with us and we are not able to simply "ignore" his cries

I'm having a huge problem. My 4 yr old wakes up every night between 3 and 4 am including now as I'm typing asking me to come lay with her. If I lay with her she will fall right back asleep. If I don't lay with her the whining and calling of my name can continue for up to two hours. Please give me some options or suggestions.

Hi, I have a question. My four month old has a good nap schedule and self settles to naps and bedtime, which is early 5:30/6pm. She wakes several times a night to breast feed which I dont mind but she keeps waking at around 2 or 2:30am and wont go back to sleep. Its a killer – she can be unsettled for hours. Sometimes I think she is just trying to pass wind for hours……

My son is almost 9 months old. He is very well trained to fall asleep on his own. I have no problems with that. The problem is that he doesn't STAY asleep. He wakes up like clockwork between 2 and 3am. He goes to bed by 830pm, takes 2 regularly scheduled naps during the day for no longer than an hour and a half a piece. I don't know what else to do. He eats well and takes a full bottle of formula before putting him down for the night with a clean diaper. He has only slept through the night maybe 5 or 6 nights. I tried letting him cry it out, but that did not work. Any tips would be helpful

When baby awakes in the night and it NOT hungry, just confused or scared between cycles, how do we encourage her to sleep again? If she isn't hungry then the breast is a prop and to use it for soothing would be counter productive. But so would rocking or shushing the baby instead. So what does one do?

I am thinking : Check the diaper, pick up baby and wait for hunger signs, then after a quick cuddle put the sleepy but now calmed/reassured and AWAKE baby back down and watch as she finds a way to self-settle. Is this accurate?

So this is the point at which she should for example discover sucking her fingers, or stroking the soft sheet, or tossing her head.

My advice would be to look into some sleep training methods. When a baby wakes at night it is very important how you respond because this will be how your baby will expect to be put back to sleep. So if you go in and nurse, rock, etc, then she will expect that every time she wakes after a sleep cycle and can't fall back to sleep on her own. This can be several times a night. The best thing you can do is teach her to fall asleep on her own. See if this article helps http://violet-sleepbabysleep.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-teach-your-baby-to-fall-asleep-independently.html#.Uw3_Ff1CpfM. Good luck, let me know if there is any other way I can help!

Hi! Thank you for this article! Great information. This past week my 5 month old (who just started cereal) has been waking up after we put her down for the night every 40 minutes. She also only takes 30 minute naps during day. We are working on getting her to fall asleep on own but she isn't having it still. She cries uncontrollably and almost gets to point of hyperventilating! So of course we end up picking her up. Any advice on what to do? She was a great sleeper before this past week…She would rarely wake. Is it the change in diet? Also any advice on getting her to fall asleep on own? Thank you! !!

Hi. I find this so insightful. Thank you. I'm wondering if you can help me though. My 7 month old boy has started to wake at 3-4am each night crying/screaming. First I thought it was teeth. Then hunger. But now I'm thinking is to check if I'm there I've recently gone back to work. I do pick him up soothe him. He's wide awake by bow but I just cuddle him for a moment and then he goes back to sleep with thumb in mouth happy enough and goes back to sleep. what can I do to get him to stay asleep just let him cry it out?, he's in is own room aswell.

Hi Violet, this information is fantastic but I am wondering if you can clarify something. You suggest that it is important to distinguish day from night. You also suggest that light can wake a baby up. So, during day time sleeps, should the blinds be up and the room light to associate the sleep with daytime or should the blinds be down and the room dark to help the baby sleep? I can't seem to get a straight answer on this in the many resources I've read and I would be interested in your thoughts.

If your baby is young and is experiencing day/night confusion (which can occur up until 9 weeks of age), then you would want to keep the blinds open and keep the room bright so that he/she can spend more time awake and hopefully sleep more at night. If you're baby is not experiencing any day/night confusion and you are referring to an older baby then you would want to encourage a dark environment during day time sleep. Hope that helps and makes sense:)

My 15 week old daughter is still swaddled only at night and usually sleeps 8 hours, uninterrupted. Do I need to wean her from the swaddle before attempting sleep training? I'm terrified that she won't sleep without the swaddle as her naps are only 30-40 min, but I really think she needs more sleep at night (which is why I'd like to start sleep training.) I'm making myself sick worrying about this all the time and my husband is sick of dealing with me like this.

Hi Tonia,Your best bet would be to take her off the swaddle when starting sleep training. Otherwise you will most likely have to re-train when you finally take the swaddle away. Hope that helps. Let me know if you need any help with "sleep training".

Thank you, that definitely helps! Once last question: She currently gets a bottle at 6pm, takes a 30-45min nap around 7:30, gets another bottle at 9:30 and goes to bed right after that. If I start sleep training, do I slowly move her bedtime back without that last 9:30 feeding or put her down for the night at 7:30 when she normally naps & feed her in the middle of the night? Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Hi my little boy is 15 weeks old has always been a brilliant sleeper, but the past few nights once he has had his bottle he goes down to sleep like normal but an hour later wakes up screaming.good and crying unconsolidated to the extreme where he can't catch his breath. I strip him right down as he is sweating from where he has gotten so worked up. N then he calms down n it takes me the best part of 2 hours to settle him back down to sleep. Once he is asleep again that is him done till the next day.It is really bothering me why he is waking screaming the way he is. It is starting to scare me a little

hi, my baby hasn't been a good sleeper since birth. So, we hold him, rock him to sleep. Night time, when hes asleep we keep him in his cot, but he would wake up 3-4 times. he is going to be 5 months on 9th. I have tried to pat him to sleep when he's sleepy, but he either smiles or cries. He would fuss a lot when he is sleepy and would sleep after like 1-2 hrs of rocking him. I would really like him to learn how to sleep on his own. (ps: now he's bottle fed twice: afternoon and night, mostly hes breastfed)

hai, my 2 month baby used to wake up for every 10 minutes and most of the time she was crying ……………i tried my level best to make her happy but she never ever convinced.but she is playing and feeding normally.so please give solutions for her crying & sleeping.how to calm down my baby when crying bitterly??????????????

Help please Im confused. My 14 week old daughter needs her paci to fall asleep at naps and night time, does this count as putting them down by themselves? many times i have to come back and put it back in her mouth because she cries. then at night i don't know if she cries for milk or the paci. i used to bf her every time she cried at night but i have been reading babywise book and wanted to help her sleep better. last night i finally got her down at 11 after bf and paci she went to sleep then at 5:30 cried so i gave her paci, went back to sleep but half an hour later cried again so i put it back. then she sleep until 9 when i had to wake her up to try to implement this new schedule. i had to wake her up from her two naps today and the rest of the naps and this evening she slept terrible, waking too early and tonight crying very hard every time i put her in her crib. finally fell asleep on her own with pac after lots of hugs, rocks and patting. my question is, when she cries at night does she want paci or milk? should i take away the pac if she can't go to sleep without it? also did i do a bad thing to wake her up this morning and from her naps?? the reason i wanted to have a schedule such as babywise was beause she was going to bed around 10 or 11 and then waking several times nad eating at night and sleeping basically until 11 am or 1 and it seemed like a hard schedule to maintain. i would really love to get your advice, please help! I'm a very confused mommy 🙂

Hi I have a 2 week old little girl and she has her routine laid out pretty much. Everytime I Breast feed she falls asleep, so I put her in her bouncer and she stays asleep and everything is fine during the day that is. When I comes to night time I feed her at about 9 when she wakes up then she sleeps till 12:30/1 wakes up and I feed her and she falls asleep while eating like always. But as soon as I put her in her bouncer (only thing she sleeps in right now) she immediately wakes up and starts fussing. So lately I've been letting her fuss because I know she is fine. And she will fuss for a little bit then stop then start fussing again. But it continues for a long time and she is in the same room as I, so I eventually just get her and she goes right to sleep on me. We keep our a/c on in the room so I started to wonder maybe it gets to cold for her and that's why she wants to be with me at night? Or she is use to falling asleep on me from feeding?

Hi. My little boy is 91/2 and since doing the sleep sense program at 4 months he sleeps great. 11-12 hours at night and now 2 naps of 11/2. 🙂 However I've been dealing with couple of issues recently. 1st he has been waking up during naps and at night crying and screaming. It usually last 10-15 mins and he falls back asleep, but sometimes during naps he just keeps getting louder and that it is for nap time. The other issue I have is that no matter how tired he is he refuses to sleep in the stroller or car seat. Now is summer and we are outside more often so he has been skipping his afternoon naps. He doesn't get cranky, but I know he needs his sleep. Any advice about how to improve or fix these 2 issues? Thanks

Both my daughters had the makings of being an "easy" baby. That was until my husband INSISTED on cradling them to sleep every single night and nap time. This turned my "phew, now I can relax and get some work done" time to "the baby must be held and snuggled, don't you dare move" time. I love my children, but I didn't appreciate his spoiling them and then yelling at me for the house not being perfectly tidy.

I'm having trouble with my 7 month old. Ever since she got her 6 month shits she has been on this whacky sleep pattern, waking up several times at night. We have tried putting her to bed awake, and even when she wakes up I will cover back up and just sit on a chair in her room. When I hear her get up I will first listen for a bit and sometimes she falls back asleep, but only to wake an hour, hour and a half later. I don't know if she is going through a regression, skill development or teething (we do have two teeth already) or all. Often time she's just restless. Last night I couldn't take it anymore and brought her in bed with us even the. She tossed and turn, even patting her bum or holding her hand. Nothing worked. Finally my husband broke down and took her to the glider and rocked her to sleep ( we both work full time). Any help is welcome. Thank you!

My 8 month old wakes up at exactly the same time every night, 10:30 and 2:30. I let him fuss before picking him up, but he never seems to put himself back to sleep. Nursing or rocking seems to be the only thing that will work. It's exhausting! Any suggestions would help!

Hi I have a 7 week old baby girl love her with all my heart and quite offten when she is sleeping she will wake up screaming and her face will turn red and when this happens my wife or I will pick her up and she stops almost instantly we don't no what it is if it's colic or reflux night terrors or anything like that this being my first baby it scares me and I don't no what to do

Night terrors usually don't happen until toddler/preschool years. And colic or reflux would also be apparent during the daytime hours. Usually when a baby wakes up screaming, settles when picked up, and starts screaming again when laid down back down awake is dependent on you or sleep props. At 7 weeks old, that is perfectly normal for her to be attached to you. Here is an article that helps explain sleep props http://violet-sleepbabysleep.blogspot.com/2013/06/sleep-associations-rocking-to-sleep.html

Hi. I have a baby boy that turns 4 months on 27th of march. Since he was a few weeks old he slept well during the night waking up only 2 times at 2:00 am & 5:00 am. Later only at 5:00 am. Has been 10 days now that my baby wakes up every hour at night. He starts whinning and them crying. He's used on a pacifier but the dummy didn't put him back to sleep. Only feeding, sometimes on both breasts do the trick. I want to mention that my baby sleep only on my breast while he's feeding. He didn't sleep when i put him awake on the crib and he start crying a lot when i try this. Please help me cuz im sleep deprived now and i dont know whats going on with my baby. He's also a terrible napper and sleep only at 40 min stretch on daytime. Whats wrong ???? Thank you

I see alot of great questions here! Join Sleep, Baby, Sleep on Facebook and have a chance to tell me about your baby, ask questions, and see how other parents are handling their baby's sleep troubles. I can see the questions pop up much quicker on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sleepbabyslee

I would love your take on what do to for my 10 month old! He slept 13 hours from 2-6 month, and after Christmas, he completely changed. Over the last couple of months, every night he wakes up 2-4 times. Each time he wakes he only wants me and milk. Sometimes he drinks like he is starving and I can actually he his tummy grumbling, and others he barely drinks at all. Whats even more frustrating is that he will fall asleep on my arms, and then immediately wake up as I put him back in his crib. We have tried everything, letting him cry, feeding him infant cereal right before bed (plus milk from both sides), really everything that we can think of. (We've put a blanket down in his bed so he doesn't wake a cold bed). We are coming to the end of our whits trying to figure out how to help him sleep through the night again, or at least fill his belly for longer. Any suggestions??

Hi, I have a 6.5 month old who was sleep trained last month. We do his bedtime routine, put him in the crib awake and leave. He sleeps on his own. But he is still getting up 1-2 times at night and has hard time falling asleep. If we let him cry, he settles down after 30-45 min but starts again in an hour. That is very painful for me. We change his diaper to make sure it is not soiled or soaked. If I breastfeed him, then he is happy when I put him in crib. He will breastfeed and then go to sleep on his own which is great. But sometimes he is just sucking and not hungry. Even if I feed him for 5 min and put him down he is happy. But otherwise he will cry for an hour. We put him to bed at 7:30pm and he gets up around 7am. He is very good when going to sleep and waking up but not sure what happens in the middle of the night. Please help.

Hi Violet, I have 11 mo daughter. she used to sleep very good from 3 – 8 months. but then she started to wake up frequently at nights, and it gradually becoming worse now, she is waking up now every half n hour or hour. she wants to bf and then only she goes back to sleep. sometime after bfing she needs to be rocked, and if that is stopped she will again wake up and want bfing. please note that I am using cradle for her to sleep in. I know it is one of the prop that she is depending on. and another one is bfing. but this is used since she born. and she slept good till now. then why even with bfing and using swing she stop sleeping through night ? I eveantually want to stop using cradle and want her to sleep on her own, but she start crying a loud if not given breastfeeding and rocked.

Hi I have a 9 month old who will fall asleep fine but wakes up crying uncontrollable. I try my best to calm her walk her around rock her bounce her etc but nothing works. I know it's not hunger because I feed her tight before bed. She used to sleep all night but this past week has been just horrible. She is on a set schedule with everything. What can I try?

Hello Violet, I have been researching and reading about sleep,babies, training, etc for months now trying to figure out why my 4 month old son has never been a good sleeper. I thought he was when he was 2 months old sleeping in chunks of time like this starting at 7pm: 4-3-3-2, waking up at around 7am. I breastfeed only and feel like I've created the issue with feeding schedules. When I talk to other moms or read about other people's babies and their sleep habits, I've realized he's always been a crappy sleeper since birth. We've thought gas, reflux, etc and gave tried everything to get my baby to sleep…my Nana who was a maternity nurse, my mom, my husband, his mom, everyone has tried and to no avail. His daytime naps last usually between 30-40 minutes in his crib and longer in the stroller. We've instated a sleep routine since about 3 months but he fights sleep like crazy. Screaming and taking hours to go to sleep. Usually his bedtime is anywhere between 6:30-7:30 as I watch his sleepy cues. Now, for about a month, he is waking every 1-2 hours and doesn't go into a deep sleep. We've started xo-sleeping with him so I can sleep as I'm a haggard mess. Tonight, he is waking up every 15 minutes! I fed him from me about 4 ounces and then 3 ounces of breast milk from a bottle so I know its not hunger. He's been teething lately…could this be it?

my 1 year 10months daughter wakes up every night to breastfeed.she sleeps while breastfeeding.and wants to breastfeed every time she wakes up..i do want to breast feed her until 2 years.but do want to stop vreastfeeding until she sleeps.how do i sleep train my daughter.please help me

okay , so i have a 3 week old , she becomes 1 month old on the 31st . she use sleep pretty good through out the night sincce we brought her home and woke up a couple times , not much but all of the sudden she cant sleep at night , i will put her down once she is sound asleep then a couple minutes later or half to an hour later she up crying and screaming .i dont really have much of a schedule for her for feedings just about every 2- 3 hours . every time she cries like this at night i make a bottle and feed her sometimes its because she is hungry but since she has started acting like this it doesnt seem to be that she is hungry and she ends up throwing / spitting it back up alot too . i dont know what to do or how to get her to sleep without waking up so often at night. it hurts me seeing her cry and scream like this.

Hi jessica, my son was sleeping through the night. I work early and we wake up at 430am everyday. He goes to bed between 630pm and 7pm. He was sleeping through the night. For the last week he is waking up at 130am every morning. I have tried everything he goes to bed no props. His schedule during the day is exactly the same. When he wakes i have tried letting him self soothe. I have tried sooting and he will fall back to sleep but wakes up a few minutes later. He starts off whining, he rubs hands across the sheets, etc. Then starts crying into a screaming fit until I go to him. The only way he will go to sleep is if I give him a bottle. I kow he is not truly needing it he did months of sleeping through the night with out it. I have tried increasing his food before bed. Keeping him up a little later, nothing seems to work. It is the same time every night. Help what do i do. I am exhausted and it is making me wake up late for work. Hoping you have aome suggestions

Hi my name is Sarah, my daughter is 10 months old and hasn't cut a tooth yet, she has only recently been waking herself up in the night screaming about 5-6 times and can be awake sometimes upto an hour, cold that be her teething? She self soothes herself to sleep at night with her blanket so she not dependant on me to sleep

Hi Violet, at around 3 and a half months my daughter randomly started sleeping 10 hours through the night, it was great. She is now 5 months and recently she has been waking up around 3am and wakes up a few times between then and 7/7:30am. We put her to sleep with the pacifier awake and she goes to sleep herself and then it falls out and she's okay until around 3am. She doesn't scream but starts to fuss/cry so I give it a few minutes hoping she will go back to sleep but once the cry gets a little louder we give her the pacifier. I didn't think it was an issue at first because she goes from about 10pm (because it falls out) until 3am but that's what makes her go back to sleep when we give her the pacifier again. She will go about 20 minutes and then it will fall out and she cries again and that will happen a couple times. Should I let her cry longer or just try putting her to sleep from the beginning without it?

Hi Violet, my baby is 11 months old and she has never been able to sleep through the night. At best she has slept for 5 hours, this happened only a few times though. At first she was really small and would wake every 45min to feed then at 3 months doc said it may sleep regression, then queue teething, then again sleep regression. There is always something. She has a few good days and then there's either a milestone or what I've mentioned above. On good nights she will wake 3,4 times. Yes you read that right. She wakes at 7am, naps at 9am for about 45minutes (longer ofcourse if she nurses), have another nap at 1pm for 1.5 hr with one wake and then bedtime at 7pm with same routine since she was born. She wakes after 30 minutes like clockwork and on good nights will sleep for 2 hrs after that and then for 4 hrs and another 2 and then 1. She eats 3 meals per day and breastfeeds 3,4 times. And yes she always nurses to sleep always has. Now she has a cold waking like crazy because she cNt breathe properly, has started day care (which she's not loving), and i will be going back to work full time next month. What do i do? I have accepted that she's just not a great sleeper, even though she has periods when she does sleep longer so i know she can but it's just phase after phase. Any advice is welcome.

Hi there, love your blog. Need help!! My 5 weeks old boy has been fairly good up until now and I've understood if he's hungry or tired. But these days he wakes up in the middle of his normal sleep basics maybe an hour or more after he was last fed winging and screaming. The cry is not rhythmic so we're never sure what is wrong. He usually settles after 10-15 minutes of walking or holding him in arms. He does this more frequently at night.

Good morming… I say morning as it is actually 5:13am here.. As you can guess I'm up with my baby.You see my boy is 3 and a half months old. From a month old he went straight into his cot, no problems. And from the first night in his bigger space he slept through the night. So from a month old he had his last bottle about 12am and didn't wake up until about 9am. Which for me, was obviously bliss. At first I was a little concerned about the length of time he was going without a bottle but the MW and HV both said that if he's hungry he'll wake. Now tonight, and two nights ago I've been sitting on the end of my bed, almost pulling out my hair, exhausted every possible outcome of what could be bothering my fussing son. The bottle, he plays with and spits out, if I wind him anymore I'm afraid I'll bruise him. He's had his nappy changed, clean clothes. The room is a right temperature, again I'll try that bottle, a big fat nope to that. However!! And here is the big one, as soon as he gets cuddles from me or daddy he's straight to sleep, no worries. As soon as his backside touches that mattes he's wide awake and not impressed that we're trying to put him down.

Normally he's an amazing little sleeper, but only recently 3 or 4 days out of the 7 he's an absolute nightmare to the point I just want to lock myself in the bathroom and just pretend I can't hear anything.

Any help would be appreciated…Oh and, he doesn't have a pacifier. I've never personally seen the need for them.

Hi! Just wondered if you had any suggestions for a baby who kicks. She is almost 5 months old and has been kicking for as long as I can remember. As soon as you put her down to change a diaper, dress her or when she is just about to fall asleep her legs go up in the air. She wears a sleep sack and this does nothing to prevent it. I had been weighing her legs down a bit with a quilt but closing in on 16 pounds it has no effect now. Right now the only way I can control it is by laying down with her and essentially holding her legs down until she is asleep.Thanks for your thoughts

I have two month old twin boys and so far my wife and I have been lucky with sleep issues and the lack thereof. My problem comes with nighttime feedings. All through the day we have virtually no problems whatsoever but when night comes they become fussy and generally uncooperative. Two ounces in they start making choking noises and crying out of nowhere. It take an hour or better just to feed and get them back to sleep. HELP!!!

I have a 5 month old that has major reflux and is on medication for it. My issue is per the doctor, after she is fed she needs to be held upright for 20 mins before being put back to sleep. That's ok during the day but she still has one feeding at night so she falls asleep on my shoulder. Then when I put her back to bed she will sleep for an hour and wakes up every hour on the hour to basically be adjusted. She hasn't learned how to roll over yet. I now have her sleeping in my bed because she wakes up so frequently and I just roll her from side to her back to her belly – this is happening over and over again at night. I don't know how to brake this habit and need relief badly! I feel stuck because of her reflux issue and I've asked her pediatrician if she's adjusting because she's uncomfortable. I've had no answers and no relief. Any thoughts?

Hi Violet,My 6 month old was a "decent" sleeper in that he would go to sleep relatively easily and wake up 1-3 times/night. Not ideal, but I was okay with it because he would nurse for 5-10 minutes and go right back to sleep. However, over the last 3 nights he has screamed each time I tried to put him back in his crib to the point that I have had to sleep in a chair with him because that was the only way either of us were going to get any sleep. My husband tried rocking and holding him for an hour and he screamed the entire time. Any ideas on why this could be? It seems like a very sudden and dramatic change to the rhythm we had gotten into! Thanks!

I have a 3 and a half month old son. He slept through the night. His last feeding was about 12am or 1am and he would sleep till 11am or 12pm sometimes later. For about the past week he has been waking up out of his sleep crying. He isn't hungry or his diaper doesn't need to be changed. He will be up for hours and fussing here and there. Any suggestions?

I have a 3 and a half month old son. He slept through the night without any issues. His last feeding was 12 or 1 am and would wake 11am or 12pm sometimes later. Now he has been waking up out of his sleep crying the past week. He is up for hours and fussing here and there. He ain't hungry or don't need a diaper changing. Any suggestions.

I have a two week old who is very difficult to settle.At night He can cry from one feed to the next.I rock him,swaddle him ,put a heated bottle in his crib but nothing seems to work.He will fall asleep but then wake himself up screaming five mins later.Ive tried swaddlign for startle reflux,holding my hand on him when hes in the cot.Some nights he settles fairly easily.After 20 mins rocking he will fall asleep and I will ever so gently palce him inhis cot and there he stays but the next night the same actions only seem to agitate him.Is he in pain?He does sometimes have wind but when he passes the wind he continues to cry.My mum is staying with us and even she is at a loss.She thought he might be sleepign too much during the day..we tried keeping him awake more during the day and it seemed to work one night and not the next.In the hospital they used to just let me top him up with formula but my midwife has asked me to stop doignt this.She doesnt think hes hungry and that while he does eventulaly fall asleep its only becasue he drugged on milk.he does eventually settle but only because hes exhausted ..poor thing and then he sleeps for five or six hours.So I suppose my two questions are:Is he in pain?and why does he keep waking himself up?Please help |Im at my wits end

Hi, need help my 7week old doesn't sleep for more than 40 mins at a time u can set a clock by her, that's if she goes in her cot, the only way I can get her to sleep is on me an then she will sleep for 2-3 hours in the day. At night she goes to bed at 7ish then I willDream feed her at 10, she wakes at about 1.30 then again at 4.30-5 I have been feeding her when she wakes but am worried this is a habit not that she's hungry as during the day she goes a lot longer without a feed, in at a loss worried about her health due to being so over tired all the time, having her sleep on me twice a day isn't the best option I'm sure… I have noticed when she sleeps on me she wriggles heaps and look like she's in pain, then I hush her and pat her and she goes back to sleep again, I'm struggling please help me

Hi! I’m desperate for an answer to a mysterious situation. My 3 month old was a great sleeper. Slept 9-3 then 3-6 after eating (bf or bottle). Ever since my nanny started when I went back to work 2 weeks ago he wakes up at 1230, 3, 4, 5, 6 etc until I pick him up and sleep with him on my chest. On the weekends when my husband and I are home he goes back to his normal sleep schedule waking just once at 3am. I have tried to change every variable but the nanny is the only difference. We follow the exact same feeding and napping schedule during the day. Nanny is wonderful, experienced and honest. Not sure what’s going on or what to do to fix it. I feel like he is way too young to “miss us.” Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!!

My baby is a few days shy of being 3 months old. He is not a very happy baby and getting him to sleep is a nightmare! The only thing I have found that works is nursing him to sleep and then holding him the whole time he sleeps 😬. Every time I lie him down he cries (even if it’s just to let him play on the floor, not for a nap). I have no idea what to do to fix this. I have tried other methods to get him to sleep but he holds out and just cries and cries until he’s hungry so I feed him and then he falls asleep. I need some serious help but I am really nervous that nothing will work and I will be doing this for years! Please help!

Hello I had a question my 5 month old still wakes up twice at night she never auto crys but after a couple min start to cry I grab her change her diaper then I give her a bottle she ends up only taking about 3oz then stops sucking so as soon as that happens I put her back down she falls back asleep then does this about 3-4 hours later can this be a bad habit or is she actually hungry?

[…] Believe it or not, most people, adults, and babies wake up at all hours throughout the night. The difference is most people easily fall back asleep and does not even rememberwaking up at all. [1] […]

my DD hasn’t been sleeping at night this last week. She is 8 weeks now and the last couple weeks slept ~ 7 hours (first 5+ on her own then the rest with me). However now she is waking up after 3 hours screeming. I haven’t fed her in the middle of the night but have to rock her to sleep and she will wake up screeming if I put her down or move her. I know she is nit hungry because she doesn’t not polish off her morning bottle so any ideas what could be going on? On top of that she got her 2 month shots 3 days ago, but I haven’t seen any symptoms of that specifically

My nearly 8 month old son (will be 8 months on February 18th) wakes up at night. He went about 7 days without a bottle feeding at night,then suddenly needed one for the past few nights as well as waking frequently. He has 2 bottom teeth and 2 more about to pop through on the upper gums. His naps are at 9:30 and 1:30, last around 1-2 hrs, and goes to bed about 6:30. He was born 5 weeks early, but he’s a big guy that eats anything he can get his hands on! Weighing 25lbs and he’s 28″. His bed time / nap times are as follows: diaper change, bottle, book, then he puts himself to bed. He does use a pacifier and I believe it’s causing a dependency. Does his prematurity or the pacifier affect his night sleep?

Help!!!
My daughter was a perfect sleeper up till she was 3 and a half months. Then I feel she got dependent on her soother I was waking up to her screaming 3-4 times an hour to put in back in! This has been going on for almost 2 months and I’m exhausted! She is almost 5 months old now and It’s day four with no soother and she napping much better but still is waking up screaming!! What do I Do! 😩

My 61/2 month little boy was late being diagnosed with Cows Milk Allergy, but is now growing well, very well !!
He’s weaned into 3 meals and I still BF him day and night. He’s waking in the night pretty much every 2 hrs and wants feeding to sleep, he will feed from both sides, every time, not just suckle? How do I now if this is comfort or hunger? He’s always been a frequent feeder, never gone more than 3 hrs without a feed……..

First time Mom here at the end of my rope with little to NO sleep. My son is 6.5 months old. He has never been a great sleeper. From the day he was born he has been awake almost every two hours like clockwork, and always wanting to eat.
I have been working on sleep training for the last three weeks or so. We now have a bedtime routine and I can put him down in his bed, fully awake, with no crying, but he WILL NOT stay asleep. Sometimes, he will last an hour and maybe two and a half, before he wakes and starts fussing or crying. He has rarely ever slept longer than 3 to 4 hours at a time and my exhausted body is at the end of this endless cycle! I don’t even feel like myself anymore. He definitely wants the comfort feeding of the bottle, but many times will fall back to sleep almost immediately. He broke himself of the paci at 4 months so that isn’t an option. He just spits it out. Basically, if I pick him up to try comforting him instead of giving a bottle, he will push away from me and get more mad than he was.
What. Do. I. Do? Let him fuss and see if he stops? I know it’s my fault now for allowing him to comfort feed to go back to sleep, but when you are this long deprived of sleep, I guess you do whatever it takes to get back to sleep yourself…,, but I REALLY need this cycle to change.

Good da.My little one is 1 years an 2 months.
she does not want to be covered in the night and keeps kicking blanket of even if shes asleep.i dress try to dress her warm cloths on cooler nights,im concerned cos its gonna be winter in a few months and i don’t want her to get cold .she sleeps with us in bed.

How about a sleep sack. Anyone of these will work, https://www.amazon.com/keywords=baby+sleep+sack they come in different material and thickness. I have had the pleasure of reviewing almost every single sleep sack and outfit on the market, so if you you have trouble deciding please email me using the contact form at the top.

Please help!!! My 6 mo old is waking up every 2 hours screaming at the top of her lungs. She was a great sleeper before, usually only waking once at night around 4am to eat. I put her down around 7:30. She got an ear infection last week and the antibiotics made her throw up a lot, so we had her in bed with us for 3 nights. Now, back in her crib is waking up regularly so upset. She goes to sleep beautifully with a great routine and no props. And I lay her down still awake. But 4 hours later she starts her 2 hour wake ups. I have tried letting her cry it out for 3 nights now but she screams 30+ minutes to the point she starts losing her voice. If I go in to calm her by rubbing her back, it makes it worse. Only thing that calms her is to pick her up. So I do that, or I let her cry it out, which is terrible and once she falls asleep, will start over two hours later. What am I missing? Do I continue to just let her cry?

Jennifer – I stumbled upon your comment and I am in the exact same situation with my son. He slept for 6-8 hours straight since he was 7 weeks old, waking between 4 and 6 am to eat. We are able to put him to sleep (with a little crying sometimes) without any props. He caught a cold around 4 months old and he kept waking crying and having difficulty breathing so we slept with him in the bed and now for the last few weeks he will only sleep if we hold him (after his initial wake up about 3 hours after we put him down). He will just keep screaming if we don’t hold him all night. He seems to understand that he’s supposed to fall asleep by himself at night, but not stay asleep by himself. Did the gentle sleep training help at all? We are already trying that by shushing him, patting him, hugging him and even giving him a pacifier. Nothing seems to work though. I’m wondering if you were ever able to correct this and if so, how? Thanks!

Well, the good news is it was a phase. With my daughter, at least, we found that every time she was about to go through something developmentally (rolling over, crawling, etc) her sleep would be terrible leading up to it. I generally have a rule that if she wakes up any time before 5am, I let her cry herself back to sleep. Anytime after she comes to bed with me. But those phases where she was up at 2am (that was her wake time) with no success at getting her back to sleep, I’d bring her to bed with me. I know that’s against “the books” but for us it worked. After her phase was over, she’d go back to sleeping through the night. But for those 3+ weeks, we did what we had to do. I’m happy to report that now at 12 months, she sleeps soundly from 7:00 to 6:00 almost every night.

Thank you for the great write up above. My husband, my 7 month old son and I went on a holiday to Cebu where my LO experienced swimming for the first time. He has been pulling his ear few times a day. However, before our trip he used to sleep at 8.30pm, wake up at 1am to feed and go right back to sleep. Then he would wake up at 6ish to feed and sleep another hour before he is awake. Now, he wakes up screaming every 2-3 hours. Yes he does need my husband or me to put him to sleep with a bed time routine consisting of prayers and swaying for about 4-5 minutes. When he wakes up in the middle of the night one of us have to do the same, but for probably 30-45 mins every 2-3 hours. I hear that at 7 months babies should wake up probably 1ce to feed and sleep through the rest of the night. Infact my baby used to so it and is only after our holiday that this has changed. How do you recommend we start with sleep training as I think if we don’t say the prayers and sway him, he will not sleep by himself. How long should we give him to try and put him self to sleep at around 8.30 and how do we sleep train him when he wakes up in the middle of the night howling? Thanks for all your help. – Shai

I was never told to sleep train early. We co slept and were fine until 7 months my son began having trouble sleeping. 8-9 months he ramped up night feedings to 4-6!! So i read i needed to wait for the developmental stage from 12-15. So were here. I cannot cry it out my tall son has climbed out of his crib twice furious.

I do feel good as he will lay down in his dark room on his own and fall asleep without nursing which wouldve been impossible 2 weeks ago. But AFTER that he wakes EVER 60 to 120 minutes stands and needs me to come say mommy is here. Its dark so He then lays back down and slowly puts himself back to sleep. If i do not go in there he will yell louder and louder and then do a pull up (hes very tall) to climb out open his door and come to me. What can i do so he doesnt need me in there? Ive tried to say mommy is here over monitor it works sometimes. But why is he not just sleeping through the night? Feeding to be sure he is hungry doesn’t change it. And he is falling asleep on his own with no props. I need help. Thank you. Sleepy mom of a 15 month old tall persitent infant

My 10 week old has a great bed time routine since about 3 weeks old. By 7pm he is ready to go to sleep every day and goes until 11:30pm and sometimes even until 1am. After that is every three hours. Since week 8 I have noticed that if he wakes up at 11pm and then again at 2am, then his 2am is not a feeding; once he feels my nipple he falls back to sleep. Sometimes I put the paci as soon as I hear him waking up and he goes up to 4:30am. But, sometimes he fights for up to an hour before he goes back to sleep. If he fights too much I give him boob and see if he is actually hungry, but usually he is not. Out of frustration I do let him CIO at small intervals because of his age (1min, 2min, 3min) and I also pick him up to settle him down before I walk away.
Sometimes (7pm) he nurses to sleep ans sometimes he doesnt. Could this be the problem?
Please help, what do you suggest? Daytime he eats every 2 1/2-3 hours. He naps somewhere between 30min to 3hrs. After 5pm I make sure he does not nap again and by 6 I give him a bath. I feed on demand in case he is going through a growth spurt.

What am I doing wrong? This is the only issue I have with him. For naps and bed time he sleeps on the same spot, and I do my best to get him drowsy so he knows where he goes to sleep.

Hi Violet!
I’ve found that my almost 4month old is so incredibly inconsistent during both the nights and days! (and always has been)
She will catnap horribly one day, then have two long sleeps the next… and the nights vary from sleeping 10 hours one night, to waking every 3 hours the next…
I try watch her cues during the day and even though she’s clearly very tired she will sometimes resist sleep for an extra 2 hours after she was due to go down!
And at nights I have tried ignoring her whimpering and occasionally she will self soothe but mostly she just gets louder… The problem is when she feeds at night i can tell she’s just using me as a comfort because she falls asleep on me straight away!
Guess i’m just wanting an idea as to why she might be sooo inconsistent when i haven’t changed any of the routines at all!. I’m just glad she’s a happy baby lol
Thanks 🙂

Hi there! Your baby’s sleep troubles are very common. As a matter between 3-5mos of age is when most parents write me or reach out for my help. This is because this the age when babies are just learning to sleep. If they do not know how to sleep well this is when you will start to notice some sleep troubles that typically get worse. I strongly recommend some sleep teaching of good sleep habits, here’s a great start https://violetsleepbabysleep.com/how-to-get-baby-to-sleep-through-the-night/ Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any more questions violet.sleepbabysleep@gmail.com

My son hasn’t been the best sleeper and loves his pacifier but he does manage to remain asleep without it. However since he hit ten months he has been sleeping 6 solid hours then waking up screaming. If I attempt to cuddle him he calms down but starts jumping and smacking and goes super hyper for about two hours until he passes out again for a further 3-4 hours. Now at 11 months it is driving me insane. I am getting the same every single night. If I ignore him he screams inconsolably for hrs in end until paaaing out hysterically. He is not hungry, thirsty and won’t want his pacifier. What can I do .. what can it be?

Hi Violet,
I was wondering if you could help me shed some light on my situation 🙂
My 6.5 month old has never been an amazing sleeper, each milestone seems to hit us hard. He got his bottom teeth around 5 months, is crawling and now pulling himself up to his knees and even standing. His naps like Brittany above are inconsistent, some days it’s catnaps whilst others it’s over an 1hr30. Whilst I think he is teething along with all these developmental milestones his sleep has yet taken another sudden turn for the worst this week.
Normally he would wake perhaps twice maybe three times per night and I would give him a little drink and his pacifier, this would send him back off but currently this is no longer working.
I’m putting him back down on his back, saying “sleepy time, night night” which then he screams and gets back to his knees. The only way I can get him to settle is by rocking him on me but I’m exhausted.
I have read that during teething they want more comfort and of course I want to do that but is this actually teething? Developmental milestones? Bad habits?
Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Hi. I hope you can help. For the last 3 days am living through a nightmare of not sleeping. My 9 month old baby tosses and wakes up fully every 30 minutes. She refused to feed when she wakes even though she looks thirsty to me. She is otherwise a happy baby but her nights leave her exhausted and cranky in the morning.

I really want to help her back to her normal routine but am not getting anywhere. Please help

Hello,
I just started putting my 5 month old in her crib. Shes been pretty good but she wakes up 3 or more times a night and kicks and flares her legs hard aginst the crib for 10 minutes or so. Then she goes back to sleep. No crying. But then it repeats itself after another 3 hours. over and over. She also can go from back to stomach at 3 1/2 months so we have to use rice socks near her legs so she doesn’t roll over and scream. I just bought a magic merlin sleep sack thinking maybe it will help her stop waking up and being startled. Whats your thoughts???

Hi! My son is 11 weeks. We put him down for the night (still in our room) after his 7:30 feeding. I feed him again at about 11:30. Typically at about 3:30 he begins to wiggle, grunt, and whimper and cry a small amount from then until I wake him at 6 am for his first feed. His eyes remain closed, he will settle himself – sometimes for 30 minutes sometimes only for 5. If he ever begins to really cry and root around I will feed him. I am hesitant to pick him up and sooth him every time as he appears to be asleep or start feeding him every time. I am at a loss for what to do to get him back into a deep sleep from 3:30- 6 as he does not seem to be getting great sleep nor are my husband and I.

Also his napping has gotten worse, we’re he will only nap a max of 45 minutes at a time. He is averaging 12-13 hours of total sleep a day right now.

Daughter of 11 months has begun to wake up during the night been going on for a few weeks now, usually a good sleeper (about 12/13 hours at night and between 2/3 hours of day naps) doesnt seem to be a particular time some nights she wakes up just once other times its more. Goes to bed awake without any props. However when she wakes during the night I usually give a dummy and goes back sleep straight the way. Is it a good idea to get rid of the dummy as relaying on it when waking up to go back sleep? How else can I get back sleep? Many thanks

Hi, my daughter (ex-23 weaker) was sleeping great through the nights. In fact she didn’t even wake for her 12 am and 3 am feeds when she was very little and we would set an alarm to feed her. Now that she is 7 months corrected we find she drinks larger volumes during the day and found she didn’t need any night feeds. So we stopped the night feeds. But she recently started waking up at 3am like clock work. I would offer her milk her but she doesn’t drink much which told me she was not hungry. I also noted that it was not wet diaper related either. I give her the soother and would hug and swing her to sleep. This gets her to sleep fairly quickly. On occasion I have been so tired I let took her to bed with me and let her fall asleep on me then put her in her crib. One of the reasons we pick her up is because she suffers from gas and appears to be in discomfort so we pick her up and try to workout the gas. We just switched to a different formula to see if that would help with the gas. She also has reflux and being an ex-23weeker she drinks sideline to prevent aspiration. she always falls asleep drinking. During the day she will not stay asleep if we put her in her crib and we got in the habit of letting her sleep on us in order to make sure she got a nap so she would not be too tired to eat. How can I break this habit that seems to have formed? How should I put her in the crib awake to give her the chance to sooth herself to sleep if she falls asleep with her feed?

Hi there, came across your site and thought its brilliant! Im struggling so bad with my new baby and sleep. He is 3 weeks old and says awake for sometime 4 or more hours on end and refuses to sleep. I will try and shoosh him to sleep with dummy and face cloth and tap his nappy but he fights it crys till the dummy and the face cloth is out and off his face. I know its not normal that a 3 week old sjould want to stay awake for such long hours. The only time he sleeps is if he falls asleep on boob and i successfuly transfer him to the cot without him waking. When he is awake for the 4 hours he is generally good and does not cry just stays awake staring at stuff. But sometimes after a while he will cry and i try to help him sleep by shooshing him but then he arches his back and crys and fights it. If i manage to shoosh him he almost always wakes himself up by arching his back and stretching awake. Please help as i dont know what to do!! I just want my baby to sleep like a normal baby. He has been doing this from birth.

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